


Third Time's the Charm

by moocows



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Breakups, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friends to lovers to exes to lovers to exes to friends to lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Identity Reveal, LadyNoir - Freeform, Marichat, Side DJWifi, So much angst, adrienette - Freeform, oblivious lovers, you read that right
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-01
Updated: 2018-06-01
Packaged: 2019-05-16 23:31:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14820990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moocows/pseuds/moocows
Summary: Ladybug is crushed. After finally accepting Chat Noir’s advances, she falls head over heels for him, and their relationship blossoms. Or so she thought. Following a fierce argument over revealing their identities, a distraught Chat breaks up with her. She’s barely talked to him since then, and her heart breaks a little more each day.Adrien is devastated. After the breakup with Ladybug, he drunkenly enters a rebound relationship—as his civilian self—with one Marinette Dupain-Cheng. He’s floored when he realizes how amazing she is, and can’t believe he never noticed her before. He’s deeply in love by the time she suddenly breaks up with him, and then he’s alone again, left to pick up the pieces of his shattered heart.Soon after, Chat Noir resumes his regular visits to Marinette’s balcony. The ex-lovers begin to grow close again, both wary from being rejected before. Little do they know this is their third attempt, not their second, to make this work. Nor do they know that they’re already madly in love. Will the oblivious pair finally find the happiness they deserve? Is the third time really the (lucky) charm?





	Third Time's the Charm

Marinette tripped as she sprinted down the hallway, falling flat on her face and sending an armful of files flying across the floor. Bruised more in the ego than the body, the young woman scowled and began gathering her papers. A decade of daring acrobatic feats as Ladybug hadn’t done anything to improve the coordination of her civilian self, she thought with chagrin.  

As she collected the last of her paperwork, Marinette recalled another mishap, one dating back to her first day at _Gabriel_. In an elegant display of her trademark grace and charm, she had stumbled over her new heels at the new employee reception, crashing to the floor and scattering a plate of dreadfully fancy hors d’oeuvres far and wide. After a few solid seconds of staring at the floor in utter humiliation, she had dared an upward glance, fearing the disdainful stares of her peers. Instead, she had been greeted by an outstretched hand, a kind gesture of support from… the last person she wanted to think about just then. A man who would be attending the meeting she was headed to. 

Marinette gulped, brushed herself off, and walked briskly towards her destination.

She rushed in with seconds to spare, plastering a guilty smile on her face and easing her way past the other attendees' chairs to take her own seat. As the presentation began, she tentatively scanned the room for a particular face. He was absent. Uncharacteristically late. She hoped it didn’t have anything to do with her. 

A few minutes into the meeting, the creak of a door broke the tedium. Knowing who it would be, she instinctively averted her eyes. “Sorry I’m late,” an oh-so-familiar voice said. “I was dealing with… something personal.” He never did lie about these things, Marinette thought in exasperation. Exasperation that quickly turned to guilt as she considered what that “something personal” might be.

Marinette had known that he would take it hard. The man was a hopeless romantic, prone to passionate professions of undying adoration that would put a lovestruck teenage girl to shame. He was such a sweet, caring… No. She wasn’t going to go down this rabbit hole of guilt and shame. Marinette gave her head a slight shake, clearing her thoughts. She needed to focus on the presenter. On the new fall lineup. On her promising career. Yet even as she resolved to pay more attention, some self-sabotaging part of her took control, and she snuck a glance in his direction. And froze.

Adrien Agreste had been crying, and it was all her fault.

She doubted anyone else in the room had noticed. He had done his makeup to near-perfection—she had always envied his deft touch with a brush—leaving scarcely a trace of what must have been a particularly intense fit of sobbing. To the practiced eye, however, the signs were unmistakeable. And Marinette Dupain-Cheng was nothing if not a practiced observer of Adrien Agreste.

Try as she might, Marinette couldn’t resist giving him a once-over. She noted the telltale signs of crying on his face, each of which felt like a fresh stab to her heart. There was, for instance, the faintest hint of stubborn redness that clung to his eyes. His eyedrops never did manage to erase those final traces, she knew. She noted, too, the extra volume and length to his eyelashes today. He only ever wore that much mascara to distract from something else, in this case the slight puffiness of his eyes. In fact, his full face of makeup was more elaborate than on a typical non-photoshoot day, a sure sign that he was trying to conceal some cosmetic disaster. A sudden breakout, an obstinate rash... Or a fit of bawling.

God, what was she doing? Marinette tore her eyes away from the model’s face, chastising herself fiercely for her slip-up. She had no right to be ogling the man after what she had done to him just a few days ago. She sat up straighter in her chair, forced her gaze towards the speaker, and studiously avoided looking in Adrien's direction for the rest of the hour. 

After the meeting, Marinette rushed out of the room with scarcely a backwards glance, jostling a coworker or two in the process. She spent the rest of her day in a kind of fugue state, suppressing the riot of emotions within her as she went through the motions of finishing her work. 

It was 9:00 by the time she had grabbed a quick dinner and made her way home. All Marinette wanted to do was collapse in her bed and lose herself to sleep, but force of habit found her idling on the tiny balcony adjoining her apartment, a cramped, metallic affair complete with questionably sturdy railing. It was a far cry from the cozy rooftop of her parents’ bakery, she knew, but it had its charms, chief among them a certain stray who had a penchant for dropping by. A certain stray who happened to be the second man she should absolutely not be thinking about.

Once her thoughts lit upon the one man, Marinette found herself drifting inescapably back to the other. Back to Adrien. Model, physics graduate, heir to the _Gabriel_ fashion empire. But most importantly, one of the kindest souls she had ever met. He had been the one to help her up at the reception, and he was the one who lent her his umbrella all those years ago. He was unfailingly kind, genuinely thoughtful, and deeply compassionate. He was everything a girl could want. Except what this girl wanted was someone else. And so she had torn the first boy's heart out and ripped it to shreds.

She had broken up with Adrien Agreste.

Marinette shuddered from the chill winter wind. Despite her overwhelming sense of guilt over how she had treated Adrien, she had no misgivings about the decision. She simply couldn’t bear to continue the charade—for her, at least—that their relationship had become. Try as she might to fight off the feelings, her heart had belonged to another for some time now, and, as callous as it might sound, Adrien was no substitute.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng was in love with Chat Noir. 

She couldn’t pinpoint when precisely it had happened. When she initially relented to his persistent advances, she had done so more out of exasperation and pity than any genuine romantic sentiment. Maybe he would get off her case after seeing that a relationship between the two, a relationship between masked superheroes pledged to anonymity, was bound to fail. Besides, she had thought, why not give the down-on-his-luck cat a chance after almost a decade of spurning his endless flirtations? Little had she known that the cat would find his way—had already found his way—into her heart. 

In retrospect, the writing had been on the wall for quite some time. His cheeky compliments had become a source of confidence that buoyed her more than she knew, and she had begun to thrill to his every delicate, lingering touch. It was a closeness she craved, a reassuring constant in her otherwise-hectic life. When had she fallen for the silly kitty she had literally fallen on all those years ago?

Her affections only grew when they officially started dating, as the nervous, exciting tango of a fledgling romance brought them closer in ways she had never imagined. She craved the intimacy of nighttime conversations atop the Eiffel Tower; the frisson of discreet kisses shared while on patrol; the passion of their tentative sensual explorations. It was a communion of souls, she felt. Those first weeks had been a bliss she had never known, and she would give anything to return to those days.

It had been her own obstinacy that had brought a screeching halt to the idyll. Still shivering on the balcony, Marinette fought back tears as she involuntarily recalled the scene...

* * *

It was a quiet summer night in Paris. A languid breeze wafted through the air, and the full moon hung suspended amidst the stars. As the city wound down below them, Ladybug and Chat Noir sat atop the Eiffel Tower, hand in hand, reminiscing about their first days as heroes. 

“It’s been almost ten years since we received our Miraculous,” Chat murmured. “Can you believe it?”

“I know,” agreed his partner. “We were practically children back then, and look at us now.” At this, Chat looked pointedly at their interlaced hands and grinned saucily at Marinette, who blushed furiously.

“I didn’t mean it that way!”

“Sure you didn’t,” teased Chat. “We both know you’re _paw_ -sitively _meow_ -smerized by my charms.”

Marinette jerked her hand away from Chat’s in mock indignation. “If you’re going to ruin the moment with puns, then you can forget about me holding that paw of yours!” The spotted heroine stuck out her tongue for good measure, prompting an even wider smile from her partner.

“There’s the fiery lady I know and love,” he practically purred, wrapping his arms around Marinette’s waist and nuzzling her shoulder with his cheek.

“There’s a good kitty,” she replied fondly, running her fingers affectionately through his shock of unruly blonde hair. 

The pair maintained the position for some minutes as the world around them seemed to disappear. They savored their closeness; drank in each other’s warmth; and lost themselves to the present.

Chat broke the silence as he ended the hug and straightened up. His words wavered as he began to speak. “Ten years ago I was lonely and unloved. I was my father’s little project, his perfect robot son. Now I’m on top of the world, sitting next to the most beautiful woman the world has ever seen."

Marinette’s cheeks burned as she took the declaration in. Ten years of flirtation from Chat Noir, and his words could still send a thrill coursing through her veins. “I’m so glad I can make you happy, kitty. And I’m sorry about your childhood. I still can’t wrap my mind around you being a strait-laced, obedient robot. You’ll always be my mischievous little kitten to me.”

Chat smiled warmly at her, then continued. “In real life I was a cipher for other people’s expectations. Still am. To be honest, _this_  is my real life. Fighting alongside you. Being free to go where I please. Falling in love with you. It all started when the girl of my dreams literally fell from the sky.”

“Don’t remind me!” exclaimed Marinette in embarrassment. “I can’t believe I fell right on top of you!"

“It’s okay, my lady. This cat has nine lives."

“That was such a disaster,” groaned the heroine. “First I fell on you, then I had to introduce myself as ‘madly clumsy’ because I started saying ‘Mar-‘.” Marinette froze.

At this, Chat’s ears perked up. “You were saying, my lady?”

Marinette bit her lip anxiously. Chat had always respected her desire to keep their identities secret, and she appreciated his restraint. Now that they were growing closer, however, she could tell that he was becoming increasingly impatient. And she understood. She was frustrated too. She wanted to know everything about him. To meet his friends. To walk the streets with him unmasked. To declare to the world that Marinette Dupain-Cheng and the boy under the leather suit—whatever his name might be—were madly in love.

But she couldn’t do those things. Not while Hawk Moth still threatened Paris. Not while knowing each other’s identities could put their friends and family in danger. They had maintained their secrecy for a decade, and the slightest misstep could send it all crashing down. Marinette considered her next words carefully. She knew she was treading on delicate ground, and prayed that she could convince her partner to remain patient.

“Chat, I want to know who you are more than anything. I want to know your name, your secrets, your everything. But above and beyond our personal lives, we have a duty to protect Paris. Hawk Moth is more brutal than ever, and he would exploit our civilian identities ruthlessly if he knew them. We can’t afford to let him have that kind of leverage over us.”

Visibly disappointed, the black cat frowned. “You know I would never reveal your identity to Hawk Moth, even if I were akumatized. His powers aren’t foolproof. I’ve been enslaved by his victims before, but he can’t control the slaves directly. The victims can refuse to listen to him, and even fight back. Are you saying I haven’t got the willpower to resist him?"

This was bad. Marinette needed to defuse the situation before things spiraled out of control. “Chat, you know I trust you more than anyone else in the world. But nothing is for certain. Kwami magic prevents us from revealing our own names if we’re akumatized, but there’s nothing stopping us from telling him our partner’s. That’s why Tikki’s adamant that we can’t know each other’s identities.”

“Well, Plagg seems fine with it. He’s been complaining about us not sharing our identities ever since he found out who you are. You’re lucky he’s not allowed to let the cat out of the bag.”

Only Chat would pun during the most serious argument they had ever had. Marinette sighed. “Please don’t take this the wrong way, but Tikki says not to listen to Plagg. She says he’s always been a bit careless, and that she’s always needed to rein him in."

Chat took it the wrong way. “Oh, so your kwami’s better than mine? Who died and made her queen?”

“Chat, you know I didn’t mean it that way,” Marinette pleaded. Chat’s mood was growing darker every moment, and she was starting to become desperate. “Our powers are what brought us together in the first place,” she continued. "With those powers came the duty to protect the city and its citizens the best we can. That means we need to avoid all unnecessary risks, like revealing our identities to each other. Master Fu trusted us to do what’s right. We should respect that.”

“Well, it sure sounds like you don’t respect _me_ ,” Chat snarled. “I guess your _duty_  means more to you than I do.”

“Kitty, no!” Marinette exclaimed. “You mean the world to me. But Tikki hasn’t budged on this for the last ten years, and I can’t ignore her. My hands are tied."

“Well, you were certainly ready to ignore _my_  kwami,” retorted Chat. "Doesn’t Plagg get a say in this? Besides, you’re deflecting. This isn’t an argument between Tikki and Plagg. It’s an argument between you and me.”

Marinette looked away from her partner, avoiding Chat's emerald gaze. She could feel tears gathering in her eyes, but she blinked them away. She was Ladybug, hero of Paris. Heroes didn’t cry.

Seeing her silence, Chat continued, his voice a deadly whisper. “Are you scared, Ladybug? Scared to trust me? We’re partners, and partners trust each other. Isn’t that your duty too?” 

He was right. She was scared. She was Ladybug—protector of Paris, defender of the weak, symbol of bravery—and she was terrified. Terrified that Hawk Moth would target the ones she loved: Maman and Papa and Alya and Nino and Adrien and Luka and Juleka and Rose and Manon and there were so many people she had to protect even if it meant hurting the one dearest to her. The one who was right beside her, but who felt as far away as he had ever been.

Chat kept talking as she panicked, but his words flowed right past her. His voice had grown frantic, and his tail lashed wildly as he spoke. She could see the hurt in his eyes—the hurt that she had caused—and could sense that he too was on the verge of tears. Marinette curled in on herself and blocked out the world, blocked out the chaos that her life, her love, had become.

This wasn’t happening, she thought. It couldn’t be happening. How had she ended up in this nightmare? The two of them had gone from sweet nothings to vicious arguing in mere moments, it seemed, and she didn’t know what to do. She loved him so much but she just couldn’t tell him who she was even though she desperately wanted to she wanted nothing more than to tear off the mask and show him the girl underneath but she couldn’t put them in danger like that even though she trusted him she trusted him couldn’t he see how much she trusted him? Her mind was scrambled and her heart was pounding and she was sweating and shaking and breathing oh so fast in and out and in and out and she couldn’t take it any more couldn’t take it any more couldn’t take it—

“—even listening to me?” Chat interjected, jerking Marinette back to reality. He was crying freely now, she noticed. How long had she been out? “You could at least do me the favor of hearing me out. I’ve loved you for ten years now and you say you love me back but you still don’t trust me.” Chat took a ragged breath, seemed to compose himself briefly, then burst into tears once more.

At this, Marinette’s own tears burst forth, and she began to cry alongside her partner. The two heroes sobbed together for some time, but neither moved to comfort the other. A profound rift had formed between them, Marinette recognized. Years in the making, it had finally emerged to cleave the pair apart. 

Chat was the first to regain control, and he waited patiently for his partner to finish her sobbing. Once Marinette’s tears began to trail off, he began.

“Ladybug, you’ve left me no choice. I still love you. I probably always will, to some extent. You claim to love me too, but you’ve always held yourself back. If this is what you call love, I don’t want anything to do with it.”

With this, he leapt off the platform. Marinette watched as he descended the tower, growing smaller in her vision until he disappeared into the night. 

Devastated, the heroine remained on the platform long after Chat had left. Eventually, her transformation wore off, and a small red creature emerged.

“I’m sorry, Marinette,” said Tikki.

* * *

After that night, Chat Noir was all business. He would show up to fights, help defeat the akumatized victim, then leave without so much as a “ _bien joué_.” At the same time, he stopped visiting Marinette on her balcony, though she spent long hours waiting fruitlessly for him to arrive 

Marinette was shattered. She redoubled her efforts at work, trying to forget the pain, and drowned her sorrows in drink each night. She soon started drinking on the job, downing a glass or two of wine on late nights alone at the office. It was on one of those nights that she ran into a similarly intoxicated Adrien Agreste. 

One thing led to another, and she found herself draped over his sleeping form in the morning. She was mortified. She had used Adrien—her coworker, friend, and yearslong crush—as a rebound from Chat. As she dressed and prepared to sneak out, a voice called out to her.

“Marinette. Can we talk?”

She wasn’t quite sure how it happened, but far from sneaking away, she ended up asking him out. By the time she left his apartment, the two of them were officially dating.

* * *

Marinette leaned on the railing and let out a deep sigh. She had given Adrien a shot for a few months, but to no avail. He was nice enough, and seemed devoted to her, but he had one fatal flaw. He wasn’t Chat. The perfect model boy, however kind and loving he might be, just couldn’t compare to the wild, brash tomcat who had swept her off her feet. 

It was unbelievable, the irony of it all. She had pined for unattainable Adrien for so long, only to lose her heart to the kitten who loved her all along. Now Adrien loved her, her kitty didn’t, and she couldn’t continue the farce of a relationship any longer. It wasn’t fair to her, and more importantly, it wasn’t fair to Adrien.

And so she had steeled her nerves, taken him aside, and broken up with him. 

He took it well enough in the moment. She supposed his training as a model had kicked in, helping him maintain his composure. But now he was bawling his eyes out at work, and she couldn’t do a thing to help him. The guilt was tearing her apart.

Suddenly, Marinette was torn from her thoughts by a soft thud on the rooftop. Her body grew rigid as she considered the possibilities. It couldn’t be, she decided. But before she could continue the thought, a black-clad figure landed deftly on the railing beside her.

“Long time no see, Princess."

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! This is my first real fanfic ever and I'm so excited and nervous to be posting it! I've been a Miraculous fanfic reader for some time now and I finally decided to dive into the writing side of things, and it's been so much fun! I hope you enjoy my shameless Marichat shipping!
> 
> I would absolutely love to hear from people so please post comments if you'd like! Constructive criticism is more than welcome as I'm always looking to improve.


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